The Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) has been the governing legislation for teacher evaluation in Illinois since its inception in 2010. PERA's original purpose was to improve the professional competence of teachers while increasing the academic performance of students. This study explored the perceptions and experiences of a small group of elementary teachers in Southwestern Illinois surrounding their performance evaluations under PERA. Through semi-structured interview data and document analyses, the findings of this study indicate that the teachers believe performance evaluations under PERA are time-consuming and do not yield meaningful changes to the instructional practices of teachers. Likewise, PERA-driven evaluations have also reduced the teachers' trust, confidence and self-efficacy surrounding the process. Finally, the findings of this study also indicated that teacher-evaluator relationships are important and have an impact on how teachers perceive their performance evaluations. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]